Abstract
Uridine phosphorylase 1 (UPP1), implicated as an oncogene, plays a pivotal role in the metabolism of pyrimidine nucleosides, which are crucial for cellular replication and tumor progression. Despite its importance, a systematic pan-cancer analysis of UPP1 has not been previously conducted. This study addresses this gap by evaluating UPP1's gene expression, genetic alterations, DNA methylation, and prognostic significance across 33 different cancer types, utilizing extensive bioinformatics resources, including TIMER, GEPIA, UALCAN, cBioPortal, and Kaplan–Meier Plotter. Our findings indicate that UPP1 is highly expressed in 19 cancer types and significantly down-regulated in four. Importantly, high levels of UPP1 are associated with adverse survival outcomes in eight types of cancer, highlighting its potential as a negative prognostic marker. The study also reveals that gene amplification is the predominant alteration of UPP1 in these cancers. Furthermore, variations in promoter methylation across cancers suggest a regulatory mechanism potentially influencing UPP1 expression. Our analysis also establishes a significant association between UPP1 expression and both tumor mutational burden (TMB) and microsatellite instability (MSI) in several cancers, as well as a correlation with the level of immune cell infiltration. This comprehensive pan-cancer analysis underscores the importance of UPP1 as both a prognostic biomarker and a possible therapeutic target, providing a foundational basis for further investigation into its roles in cancer biology and therapy.